Who Were the Seventh Day Men of the Reformation and the Seventh Day Baptists?

The history of the Seventh Day Men of the Reformation is a rich narrative connected with the broader Protestant Reformation. Particularly within the 17th century, a group often referred to as the "Seventh Day Men" emerged. These were reformers who were convinced that the binding validity of the fourth commandment had not changed, neither in day nor practice. While the range of the Seventh Day Men existed amongst both general and particular Baptists, The particular or Calvinistic branch were the most prominent and devout of these men. While not all of these reformers were Baptist and some held to the infant baptism, the majority of these men were firmly particular in the view of salvation and Baptist in their view of the ordinance therefore the surviving line of these men were all Baptist and known as the Seventh Day Baptist. These men made a lasting contribution and impact in Reformed, Baptist, and Sabbatarian theology.

For a brief history on the Seventh Day Men click here to listen to Ep.19 of the Particular Pilgrims podcast through the Man of God Network.

Theophilus Brabourne was a controversial Puritan and minister in the Church of England and became one of the first Englishmen to publicly advocate for the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. Brabourne was born around 1590 in Norwich, a city in eastern England known for its strong Puritan presence. His early education was rooted in the grammar school tradition, providing him with a classical foundation in Latin and theology. He later attended Cambridge University, where he was educated in the arts and divinity. Brabourne was well-versed in biblical languages and Reformation theology, which deeply influenced his later writings. Following his education, Brabourne was ordained as a minister in the Church of England and served in pastoral ministry. Despite his commitments to the church of England, his studies on the Sabbath began to put him at odds. As his conviction grew on the Sabbath, so did his influence. His most influential work, A Discourse upon the Sabbath Day (1628), argued that the Seventh Day Sabbath was of divine institution and should still be observed by Christians. Brabourne insisted that the church had erred in transferring the Sabbath to Sunday, and he challenged both ecclesiastical authorities and Puritan traditions on this issue. The reaction to Brabourne’s views was swift and severe. He was summoned before the ecclesiastical authorities and eventually brought before Archbishop William Laud, a staunch defender of Anglican orthodoxy. In 1632, Brabourne was imprisoned in the Gatehouse Prison in Westminster for his published views. Though offered release on condition of recantation, he refused to abandon his Sabbatarian position. His imprisonment became a symbol of the price of dissent in an age of religious conformity. Brabourne’s later writings, including A Defence of that Most Ancient and Sacred Ordinance of God’s, the Sabbath Day (1632), further developed his argumentation. While Theophilus Brabourne never established a large following in his lifetime, his role as a forerunner of Sabbatarian theology and its later developments cannot be overstated.

Theophilus Brabourne (1590– 1662)

Francis Bampfield
(1615–1684)

Bampfield was born into a respected Anglican family and received a classical education, studying at Wadham College, Oxford. Ordained in the Church of England, he initially served as a minister within the established church. However, as his convictions deepened, Bampfield began to be aligned with the emerging Particular Baptist tradition, holding firmly to Calvinistic soteriology and credobaptism. His convictions led him to embrace the belief that the seventh day was still the biblically ordained Sabbath. He continued to live a life of pastoral dedication which was followed by personal suffering. Bampfield continued to live a life of pastoral dedication which led to personal suffering. His legacy is marked by notable contributions to Baptist ecclesiology, prison ministry, and the early formation of Sabbatarian congregations. His Sabbatarian views led to repeated persecution. Under the repressive climate following the Restoration of Charles II, Bampfield was arrested multiple times for preaching without a license and for holding unauthorized religious meetings. His most extended and significant imprisonment began in 1682 at Newgate Prison in London. Remarkably, during his incarceration, Bampfield established a functioning Seventh Day Baptist congregation within the prison walls. It is one of the earliest examples in English history of a fully constituted church being organized and maintained behind prison walls. Bampfield’s influence extended beyond the prison cell. He was associated with the congregation at Pinners’ Hall in London, a prominent gathering place for Reformed Baptist ministers. Bampfield’s Sabbatarian teachings found an audience among other Particular Baptists, including the Stennett family. Joseph Stennett and his father, Edward Stennett, would later become key advocates for Seventh Day Baptist theology in England, and it is likely that Bampfield’s work laid foundational ground for their ministry. The Stennetts would go on to lead Sabbatarian congregations and articulate a refined, Reformed Sabbatarianism.

Joseph Stennett
(1663-1713)

Joseph Stennett was a strong figure in the history of English Particular Baptists. As a pastor, theologian, hymn writer, and statesman, he played a crucial role in shaping Baptist identity in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. His unwavering adherence to both Calvinistic theology and the seventh-day Sabbath set him apart as a distinctive and respected leader. Born in 1663 in Abingdon, Berkshire, Joseph was the son of Edward Stennett, a well-educated and devout Seventh Day Baptist pastor. Edward had been a persecuted minister during the Cromwellian and Restoration periods. Joseph’s upbringing was saturated in Scripture and he was trained from an early age in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. This classical and theological education prepared him for a life of scholarship and ecclesiastical service. Stennett was ordained to gospel ministry by Benjamin Keach and Hansard Knollys, two giants of Particular Baptist history and signatories of the 1689 London Baptist Confession. Their recognition of Joseph’s theological and pastoral gifts affirmed his standing among Reformed Baptists. Keach held him in such high esteem that he personally requested Stennett to preach at his funeral—a request that Stennett honored with a memorable and theologically rich eulogy. Joseph Stennett became pastor of the Seventh Day Baptist congregation at Pinner’s Hall in London, one of the most prominent Sabbatarian churches in England. Under his leadership, the congregation grew in size and influence. His reputation as a theologian extended beyond the pulpit. The Baptists of his day chose Stennett to represent their interests before Queen Anne, entrusting him with the defense of their civil and religious liberties. His eloquence and composure in royal circles made him an effective spokesman for the Baptist cause. In addition, he was commissioned by the Baptist community to write a defense of believers’ baptism and a critique of infant baptism, producing some of the most compelling theological arguments for credobaptism in the early 18th century. When Stennett died, his lineage continued in his foot steps. Joseph was the father of some of the most prominent men in particular Baptist and Sabbatarian history. His son Joseph Stenett the younger, while not holding the stature of his father, would still provide a strong environment for particular Seventh Day Baptist. The younger was well known and good friends with the esteemed John Gill. With the two being close friends, Gill would go on the preach at the younger’s funeral. Joseph Stennett the younger was known for his famous sermon tilted the “Rabshakeh’s retreat” where he sparked patriotism in the congregation which was followed by a unique display of worship where men removed their swords from their scabbards and waved them in worship stating that they would “die holding allegiance to the Protestant faith and to the house of Hanover.” Joseph Stennett the younger would also father one of the most well known reformed Baptist ministers Dr. Sameul Stennett.

Samuel Ward
(1725–1776)

Samuel Hubbard
(1610–1689)

The first Seventh Day Baptist church in America was founded in Newport, Rhode Island, in December 1671. The church was formed by a small group of committed Sabbatarians who sought to restore the biblical seventh-day Sabbath. Among its founders were Samuel Hubbard and his family. Samuel Hubbard (1610–1689), a former member of the First Baptist Church of Newport, became one of the leading advocates of seventh-day Sabbath observance in the New World. Originally from Massachusetts, Hubbard had migrated to Rhode Island seeking religious freedom. It was in Newport that he encountered Stephen Mumford, an English Seventh Day Baptist who had arrived from London and was associated with the Calvinist Bell Lane Seventh Day Baptist Church. Mumford's influence and his ties to the Seventh Day Baptist churches in London were the seeds of the Sabbatarian effort in the new world. This newly formed Rhode Island church with Sabbath convictions would continue its strong transatlantic ties with the Sabbatarian congregations and leaders in England. The Newport church maintained an active correspondence with the Sabbatarian congregation at Pinners’ Hall in London, where men like Francis Bampfield and the Stennett family were advancing and encouraging a reformed seventh-day Sabbatarian theology. Letters and tracts were exchanged across the ocean, as both churches sought mutual encouragement, theological clarity, and reports of religious liberty or persecution in their respective lands. The Newport congregation would go on to become the mother church of the Seventh Day Baptist denomination in America, from which future congregations were planted in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Ward was a member of the First Continental Congress and a governor of Rhode Island. He was well known for his civic leadership along with his devout Sabbatarian conviction and stands out as a Seventh Day Baptist among the founders of our country. Born on May 27, 1725, in Newport, Rhode Island, Samuel Ward was the son of Richard Ward, a former governor of the colony, and Mary Tillinghast, who came from a line of influential Baptist and Sabbatarian families. The Wards were closely connected to the Seventh Day Baptist tradition, a movement which had taken firm root in the new world under Stephen Mumford and Samuel Hubbard who had connections to the Stennett family and the Pinners Hall Seventh Day Baptist congregation in London. Ward’s political career was distinguished. He served as governor of Rhode Island from 1762 to 1763 and again from 1765 to 1767. During his time in office, he became well known for his resistance to British taxation, especially the Stamp Act of 1765. Unlike many colonial governors, Ward refused to enforce the act by standing alone among his counterparts in refusing to take the oath to administer it. In 1774, Samuel Ward was elected as one of Rhode Island’s delegates to the First Continental Congress, where he served alongside notable figures such as George Washington, John Adams, and Patrick Henry. He was known for his integrity, eloquence, and unwavering commitment to American independence. Ward served diligently on various committees and worked toward unity among the colonies during a time of growing unrest. He is known to have worked alongside Washington on important congressional deliberations in the period leading up to the Revolutionary War. Unfortunately, Samuel Ward’s promising career was cut short when he died of smallpox in Philadelphia on March 26, 1776, just months before the Declaration of Independence. His death was widely mourned by his colleagues in Congress. John Adams himself praised Ward as a man of virtue and steady principle.